Girl’s gift of a viola seen as an answer to prayer
Published: June 7, 2007
Thirteen-year-old Dinorah N. Rosario closes her eyes, taps her foot and begins to play Bach’s Gavotte in G minor, one of her favorite pieces.
Her fingers are quick and steady on the viola, and she finishes the piece with a flourish.
“Now play the waltz,” said her grandmother, Carmen M. Rosario, with misty eyes, one recent afternoon. “That one’s my favorite.”
Dinorah is pursuing her love of music on the new, full-size viola that has come to her thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor from Agawam’s Bethany Assembly of God church, to which her family belongs.
She is, says her teacher, the product of a “village that is helping this young lady reach for her dreams” in the world of music.
Dinorah lives with her grandmother, her brother Melvin Medina, 11, and her three cockatiels, in a small apartment on Bancroft Street in Springfield. She is a seventh-grader in a program for talented and gifted students at Chestnut Accelerated Middle School. She hopes to one day be a veterinarian working with horses.
Right now, as she plays the notes in a melancholy waltz, Dinorah Rosario is a viola player.
“I started playing when I was little because I liked the tone and it sounded pretty. It was, I don’t know, I guess it was touching,” she said.
Dinorah began playing four years ago through the Brightwood Suzuki Partnership, a program at Brightwood Elementary School funded by the Springfield Public Schools and the Irene E. and George A. Davis Foundation.
Dinorah’s teacher is Lani J. Bortfeld, who established the Suzuki Talent Education Partnership, an outreach ministry of Springfield’s Faith United Church. It provides musical education for children playing string instruments and helps find scholarships for students who do not have sufficient means.
“Dinorah has an ability to pick things up very quickly. She also has an incredible work ethic for someone her age,” Bortfeld said.
It was Bortfeld who intervened on Dinorah’s behalf to gain her access to a full-size viola as she outgrew the smaller one on which she learned to play. Originally, Bortfeld hoped to establish a rental fund; the response meant an instrument - costing more than $1,000 - could be purchased.
When Dinorah plays the viola, her grandmother is right there to support her. They have been together since Dinorah was only months old.
“It was just us for many years,” Carmen Rosario said. “A few years ago, her brother came to live with me, too.”
Carmen Rosario spends her days caring for her two grandchildren. When Dinorah began attending Brightwood Elementary, Rosario quit her job as a medical assistant, so she could volunteer at the school. “I just wanted to watch out for her, and make sure that nobody was treating her badly,” she said.
Now Carmen Rosario is a lunch supervisor at the school. In the afternoon, she picks up her grandchildren and spends the rest of the day with them listening to them practice - Melvin plays the violin - and taking them to the library to do their homework.
Carmen Rosario said the music program was one of the best decisions she ever made for her grandchildren.
“Dinorah’s grandfather was a musician. He played the guitar and other instruments. A lot of her relatives play too, but Dinorah is the only one playing the viola,” she said. “Music and church keep her busy and doing something positive.”
Music and church are a big part of Dinorah’s life. The gift received through Bethany church was the surprise of her young life.
“I prayed a lot and mentioned it to someone at Dinorah’s church.” Bortfeld said of her mission to access a new viola for her talented student. “Dinorah had played there a few times, and she inspired someone who decided to anonymously donate the money for an instrument.”
Carol Johnson, owner of Johnson’s String Instruments in Newton Centre sold the instrument at wholesale price, making it even more affordable.
“Dinorah is a sensitive and sensible girl who participates in a lot of things at the church, and we’re really happy for her that she has her instrument,” said her minister, the Rev. Charles Heimann. “She is a member of the children’s choir and a worship team. In a few years, she could step right into our string orchestra if she wants.”
“I was surprised to get the viola and really thankful to Lani and everyone who thought I was good enough to deserve this,” Dinorah said.
Carmen Rosario sees the viola as just one of the things that will give Dinorah a better life.
“I want to surround her with positive experiences in her life. I want her to become something more,” she said.
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